Author
Topic: Swarm #5 and #6....Crazy weekend! (Read 794 times)

Moots

Ok,As I mentioned, my sister's wedding was this weekend and was being hosted at one of my other sister's house, so the family list of "to do's" was quite extensive...to say the least.

I had already pushed my luck a little by running off Friday evening to grab swarm #4. Saturday morning I woke up and headed to my sister house to get started on wedding prep. The last thing my wife said before I walked out the door was "NO, swarms today!"...

However, I no sooner got next door and my phone rang with a swarm call, had the guy text me a photo....it looked like a nice one and it was still early, so I made an executive decision to squeeze it in, based on the forgiveness is easier that permission rule of life. My nephew and I did a quick vacuum job on it and hauled tail back home for the closing hours of wedding prep.

Everything went fine...with the exception of one sting to the upper lip....Sorry, no pics! :)

The wedding was at 1800 hrs, at about 1500 hrs I got a call from work about a lady with a swarm. At this point, even I realize that's not an option. :-D

So, I give the lady a call and tell her I will be there first thing in the morning. So, 0800 Sunday morning, I went get this....perhaps the easiest swarm retrieval in history. :)

By Sunday evening I'm working on some wooden ware in the barn and my wife walks back to visit and tells me how active the bees seem. I walk out to see one of my hives swarming and settling about 40 feet up in a tree....Very high with lots of limbs between it and the ground. I reasoned rather quickly that there would be no easy way to retrieve it but grabbed a swarm trap and placed it beneath it.

While a few bees showed the new trap some interest, within in a few hours I was noticing a fair number of scouts, probably about 20 bees, at another swarm trap that I already had up about 75 feet away. I have my fingers crossed and I'm hopeful that they decide to move in. :)

Aren't you that guy that was complaining that you weren't getting any swarms? :-DGot one yesterday myself. Used a vacuum and a 20 foot ladder to collect one that was 30 feet up at tree in a real thick wild area next to a friends house. About 4 pounds of bees. A week ago I used a bucket taped to a stick and bumped them into the bucket, 12' up. Bees landed all over me and stung the heck out of my head and arms. after I dumped them in a box, they had me running for the hills. every time I got within 30' of that box they were all over me. I left it there and they moved on. I should have known they were hot, I had been sitting at the hive waiting for the Q to come out and they kept head butting my eyes, ears and lips and finally gave up because I just could not keep my eyes open with that many bees hitting them. Did the same thing the week before that and caught the Q as she came out. That was the first time i picked a Q up by hand. Jim

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